| Chapter 1: Where's Your Mommy Little Girl? By: Crystal I was walking with my wife Leighanne and my daughter Jesse. We were on our way to the park. "Brian, did you remember Jesse's bottle?" Leighanne asked me. "Yes, and an extra one in case." I said as I kissed her on the forehead. I took our one-year-old out of her arms and into mine. We lived in a quiet neighborhood in a small city in Florida. We walked past an apartment complex when I heard crying. I turned around and it stopped. "Brian, what's wrong?" Leigh asked me. "Nothing, I just thought I heard crying." I said as I kept walking. We kept walking and we set up a blanket under a shady tree. I set Jesse down and gave her some Cheerios and sat with Leigh by my side. Again I heard crying. Not like adult crying, but a child. "Do you hear that?" I asked Leigh. "No." she shook her head. I shrugged and set my open can of soda down next to me. I looked to my right when I saw a young girl around six years old run towards us. I watched as she just came and gripped onto my arm. I stood up and she latched onto my leg. "Keep me safe." she whispered. "Excuse me, where's your mommy?" I asked. "Keep me safe." she said a little louder. "Okay, we'll find your mommy or daddy." I said as I looked around. She began to cry. Leigh looked at her. Jesse started to cry from all the commotion. "Brian, what's wrong with her?" Leigh asked. I shrugged. "I don't know." I said as I tried to pull her off of me. I picked her up and she gripped my neck. "Keep me safe." she said. I looked around for a mother or father of any kind. There was no one around. "Brian, what are we going to do?" Leigh asked as she began to cradle Jesse. "I-I don't know." I said. I hushed the little girl. "Daddy." she said. "Where? Where's your daddy?" I asked. She pointed to me. "Daddy." she said. "Oh, no sweetheart, I'm not your daddy." I said. I tried to put her down. She began to scream. I panicked and picked her back up. "Okay, we'll go look for a police officer." I said. She leaned against my shoulder. I was kind of growing attached to her. We took her to the police office and they did a back round check. "What's your name sweetheart?" the officer asked. "Carla." she said as she looked at the man with her bright blue eyes. "What's your last name?" he asked. She shrugged. The officer looked at me. "Mr. and Mrs. Littrell, I don't know what to tell you. We could put her in a foster home until we can find her parents." he shrugged. "Littrell." she said. The officer looked at her. "Carla Littrell." she repeated. "That's your name?" he asked. She nodded. He looked at me. "She's got to be delirious or something." I said. "Like I said, we can put her into a foster home." he shrugged. Leigh grabbed my shoulder. "Let's go." she whispered in my ear. Clara got up and hugged my leg. "No, keep me safe!" she yelled. She began to cry. "Leighanne, we can't just put her in a foster home." I whispered as I picked her up. She sighed and shook her head. "Okay, we'll take her for a week until they find where she's from." she said. "Thank you baby." I smiled. "We'll take her with us officer." I said. He nodded. We filled out some forms and took her home. "Are you hungry?" Leigh asked her. I watched as I began to feed Jesse. Carla nodded. "Want some..." she searched the cupboards. "Cereal?" she asked. I looked at her and laughed. "What?" she asked. "It's going on seven." I smiled. "Fine, you take the kid, I'll put Jesse to bed." Leigh said as she put the cereal away. "Okay, I'll be in bed in a while." I smiled and kissed her and Jesse. Carla looked at me. "What did you want?" I asked. "Pancakes." she said. I sighed. "Okay." I said. She helped me mix the mix and they put it into the pan. I watched as she ate as though she had never eaten before. "Ready for bed?" I asked. She nodded. I picked her up and showed her the guest bedroom. "Go ahead lay down." I said. She just stood there. "You need to be tucked in?" "Yes please." she said. I smiled and picked her up. I set her on the bed and took off her shoes. I took the covers and covered her up. I gave her a kiss on the head. "Goodnight." I said as I closed the door. I walked into my bedroom. Leigh was laying down with her eyes closed. I crawled up to her and kissed her neck. "She's strange." she whispered. "She's just a kid who's lost." I said. Leigh turned to me. "They'll find her parents." I said. "Hope so." she sighed. "The kids are asleep." I smiled at her. She laughed. "Come here you." she laughed.... |
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